Chapter 54: Anbu Report

Upon entering Anbu, Ren immediately felt a chilling air blow towards his face. Since Anbu was underground, the lights were not bright; it was dim and gloomy. Here, from time to time, Anbu personnel wearing masks, clad in gray Anbu vests or black cloaks, hurried past him. Some were curious about Ren and took a look at him, while most ignored him and walked past directly. These were the most elite ninja in Konoha who had endured countless battles, and they generally had no time for pleasantries.

Continuing to walk deeper into Anbu, a person stepped in front of Ren and asked in a deep voice, "Echo Feather?"

Echo Feather was the code name Ren had set for himself in Anbu.

"Yes."

"Follow me."

This Anbu ninja spoke very succinctly, and directly led Ren through the Anbu building.

"Over there, that's where tasks are posted and submitted." "There's a place to receive supplies, materials, ninja tools, medicines, etc.—all for free." "Over there, that's where the scrolls of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu are stored, and you can consult them at will."

He walked around Anbu with Ren, introducing several parts of Anbu and their corresponding responsibilities. At this point, Ren finally had a more detailed understanding of Anbu. Although he had read the original story and had some understanding of the Anbu organization, its meticulousness was definitely not as thorough as experiencing it firsthand.

Anbu was directly under the Hokage, the elite troops in Konoha! It was Konoha's last line of defense, and the sharpest blade to eliminate any threat lurking in its cradle. Every Anbu member was at least above the strength of an elite Chūnin!

At this time, that Anbu ninja took Ren to the office of the Anbu Commander.

"Lord Commander, Echo Feather has been brought here."

"Okay, you may go."

In the office, only Kakashi and Ren were left.

"Echo Feather, I have read your information before. According to my standards, students who graduated from the Ninja Academy like you would never be accepted under normal circumstances," Kakashi said coldly. "Although at the request of Lord Hokage, you joined Anbu and became a member. But this does not mean that I recognize your strength."

"Oh?" Ren's voice picked up, looking at Kakashi with a bit of curiosity in his eyes, "Do I need your approval?"

Kakashi: "..."

Kakashi, choked for a moment, immediately felt a little colder. The gaze that looked at Ren also became unfriendly. Although he wasn't clear about Ren's specific strength, judging from his current performance, in terms of character, it was clear that he was not a subordinate who was willing to obey orders.

After Kakashi was silent for a few seconds, he said coldly: "You don't need my approval, but you need to show enough strength to make other Anbu personnel recognize you. Today is your first day reporting; you haven't been assigned to any teams yet. Although Lord Hokage wanted me to directly appoint you as an Anbu captain, based on the information I've read about you, I feel that with your current experience and strength, in my eyes, it's not good enough."

Kakashi's words had just finished, and Ren's face, hidden under the mask, couldn't help but roll his eyes. If there were no mask to cover it, Kakashi would surely see the disdain on his face.

'Please, Kakashi-san, If you hadn't cut a peach field back then, you'd be able to open it in half, In the end, because of the excessive use of the Sharingan, you lay in bed for three months. And Zabuza Momochi, that guy, was already killed by myself a few days ago! You, what right do you have to look down on me?'

However, Ren probably guessed the reason why Kakashi misunderstood his own strength. When he went out with Might Guy before, he didn't even have a ninja forehead protector, and he wasn't an official Konoha ninja at all. So the tasks he and Might Guy performed together should have been recorded under Might Guy alone, right? He had seen the information in his portfolio before, and almost all of the content was Might Guy's personal, exaggerated written accounts. Given Kakashi's attitude towards Might Guy, he probably wouldn't believe a word of those accounts.

Ren glanced at Kakashi and asked: "What conditions do I need to meet to become an Anbu captain?"

The basic task mode of Anbu was to perform tasks in teams. Four Anbu ninja were divided into a team, and every squad had a captain. The captains were generally Jōnin-level ninja or above. Then, every ten squads were divided into a large unit. There were only three units in the entire Anbu now: the First Assassination Unit, the Second Assassination Unit, and the Third Assassination Unit. Those who could hold the position of an assassination unit leader were at least at the Elite Jōnin level, and some even mastered powerful forbidden techniques. If the three Anbu captains united, even a ninja with the level of strength of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would face a great threat. And above the three assassination team leaders was the current Anbu Commander – Kakashi Hatake.

The entire Anbu operation system was very perfect. Official Anbu members totaled 121 people. Every one was an elite and among the best of the Konoha ninja. For Konoha, the number of Chūnin and Jōnin was, of course, very large, not only the 100-plus people in Anbu. But the existence of Anbu was one of the most important forces in Konoha's daily order maintenance. Such a huge number of elite ninja, whether it was the largest Uchiha clan in the village, or the Hyūga clan, the largest ninja clan in the village now, were completely incomparable in terms of combat power. This was the fundamental strength that allowed the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, to control the entire Konoha. From guarding the Hokage's safety, to patrolling the village, protecting Konoha, and going outside to perform various assassination missions. Of course, within Anbu, different levels had different powers. The Anbu members at the lowest level often did chores such as patrolling, sending letters, and passing messages. Not only was the work very busy, but it was also mechanized, which was a very boring job. After becoming an assassination captain, you could choose people from Anbu, set up your own team, and after receiving the task, you could lead the team out of the village to carry out assassination activities. The time was relatively free and the pay was good.

Hearing Ren's question, Kakashi frowned and said: "I can give you a chance to try. If your strength is enough to be recognized, you can be directly promoted to an Anbu captain."

"How do I prove it? By fighting with you?" Ren asked casually, with a very relaxed tone.

"Oh, that's not necessary." Kakashi gave a cold scoff, unable to help but feel that the boy in front of him was naive. Even if this kid really had some talent in ninjutsu, it was absolutely impossible for him to withstand three moves from him. "You just need to pick an Anbu unit commander at will and defeat him." Kakashi handed a list to Ren and continued, "This is the list of commanders who are not currently on a mission. You can choose one at will."

Ren scanned everyone's code names, and then said, "I will choose him, Tenzō."

This ninja, code-named "Tenzō," if nothing else, should be the one who, in childhood, among the children who were implanted by Orochimaru with the cells of the First Hokage, was the only one who survived. Later, he inherited the First Hokage's Wood Release bloodline and went by the pseudonym "Yamato."

The reason why Ren chose him was very simple. Among the tasks released by the system in his mind, there was exactly one task that required him to collect Wood Release attribute chakra. This time, if he could fight against Yamato, it would be a good opportunity to collect Wood Release attribute chakra himself.

But after Ren selected this person, Kakashi was stunned for a moment, and then said: "His current position is not an Anbu squad captain. He is the captain of the Second Assassination Unit, whose strength is also at the Elite Jōnin level. Are you sure you want to challenge him?"

"I'm sure."

"Well, since you want to challenge Tenzō, you only need to hold on against him for five minutes." Kakashi said so, and then ordered his subordinates to inform Tenzō to come see him.

Ren's mouth twitched, a smile appearing on his face under the mask.

'Five minutes? Should be enough for me!'